Player piano attachment



June 17, 1969 s. M. ORENSTEIN 3,449,994

PLAYER PIANO ATTACHMENT Filed Dec. 17, 1965 Sheet of 3 Q /4 FIG. .1. /2

I N VE N TOR. STEPHEN M Off/KS'TE/A Arroezvems. I

June 1969 s. M. ORENSTEIN 3,449,994

PLAYER PIANO ATTACHMENT Filed Dec. 17, 1965 Sheet 2 of3 June 17, 1969 s, o sT m 3,449,994 I PLAYER PIANO ATTACHMENT Filed Dec. 17, 1965 INVENTOR.

3,449,994 Patented June 17, 1969 n t d S ates Patent Ofiice 3,449,994 PLAYER PIANO ATTACHMENT Stephen M. Oreustein, 3504B Hawthorne Drive, Dover, Del. 19901; Lucille Oreustein, administratrix of said Stephen M. Orenstein, deceased Filed Dec. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 514,444 Int. Cl. Gf 3/00 US. Cl. 84-110 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Player piano conversion mechanism comprising rear wardly disposed vertically spaced support bars and a forwardly disposed vacuum manifold attachable to the underside of the piano case, and individual actuators mounted on the bars having key actuators to the rear, and valve control chambers forwardly with flexible conduits extending fore and aft between each chamber and the manifold, and a horizontal bleed aperture in each chamber accessible upon removing the conduit to the chamber.

This invention relates to player piano attachments, and more particularly to an improved pneumatic pianoplaying mechanism adapted to be installed on almost any conventional piano.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved pneumatic playing mechanism which can be installed on any conventional piano regardless of type without modification to the piano action and substantially without modification to the piano case, the attachment being relatively simple in construction, being compact, in size, and being arranged so that it does not, in any way, interfere with the manual operation of the piano, the tuning thereof, or the regulation of its action.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved pneumatic player piano conversion mechanism which is adapted to be installed On almost any conventional piano, regardless of type, the mechanism involving relatively inexpensive components, being rugged in construction, being reliable in operation, and being provided with individually-removable and replaceable actuators so that an actuator can be replaced without the necessity of removing the other actuators of the mechanism and without the necessity of the removal of the complete unit from the piano.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved universally-applicable pneumatic player piano mechanism suitable for installation on any conventional type of piano, such as spinet, console, upright, or grandtype, employing any of the conventional types of actions, the mechanism being so arranged that it can be employed without requiring modification of the piano action and without requiring any substantial modification of the piano case, the mechanism being arranged so that it can be used with pianos having different key-division arrangements, ad the mechanism being provided with individually-adjustable and removable actuators whose position can be adjusted without regard to the positions of the other actuators of the mechanism and which can be individually removed for repair or replacement.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view taken through the key bed of a piano equipped with an improved pneumatic player mechanism in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, and directed upwardly.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross: sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the piano player mechanism of FIGURES l to 4, shown with one of the actuators separated from the remainder of the mechanism and showing most of the actuators disconnected from the vacuum manifold of the mechanism with the connections only diagrammatically indicated.

Referring to the drawings, 11 designates the key bed of a conventional piano, the piano being provided with the usual piano keys 12 which are pivotally-supported on a pivot strip 13 having upstanding pins 14 which extend through slots provided in the keys 12, the forward portions of the keys being biased upwardly by conventional means, not shown, so that the rear end portions of the keys are biased downwardly toward the conventional keyframe member 14 which extends parallel to the pivot strip 13 and which is provided with a top lining 15 of felt, or other suitable cushioning material.

Designated generally at 16 is a pneumatic player attachment according to the present invention which is installed beneath the rear portion of the piano key bed 11, being secured to the underside of said key bed 11 in any suitable manner, for example, by the long wood screws 17, which extend through portions of the assembly, as will be presently described, and which are of sufiicient length so that the threaded top ends of the screws can be engaged securely in the piano key bed 11 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 3.

The attachment 16 comprises a generally-rectangular housing having the vertical front Wall 18, the sidewalls 19 and 20, and the horizontal bottom wall 21 which is removable to provide access to the screws 17. Disposed in the housing and located adjacent and parallel to the front wall 18 is a horizontally-extending elongated manifold 22 provided at its opposite ends with angle brackets 23, 23 having apertured foot portions 24 which are secured to the piano bed 11 by means of suitable fastening screws 25. The manifold 22 is connected by means of a flexible hose 26 to a vacuum pump or other vacuum source, not shown.

Transverse corner blocks 27, 27' are secured to the inside surfaces of the top marginal portions of sidewalls 19 and 20, as by wood screws 28, the forward ends of the blocks 27, 27' being likewise secured to the top corners of front wall 18 as by wood screws 29. Similar bottom corner blocks 30 are likewise provided on the sidewalls 19 and 20, the side margins of the bottom cover plate 21 being detachably-secured to the blocks 30.

A pair of vertically-spaced horizontal support bars 31 and 32 extending parallel to manifold 22 are secured to the piano key bed 11 by means of the fastening screws 17, which engage through the ends and the intermediate portions of said bars 31, 32, as shown in FIGURE 3. Thus, the left end of the upper support bar 31 engages transversely on block 27, and a vertical space block 33 is disposed between the left end of the bar 32 and bar 31, the left-end fastening screw 17 extending through the leftend portion of bar 32, the vertical space block 33, the left-end portion of bar 31, and the block 27. The right-end fastening screw 17 extends through the right-end portion of bar 32, another vertical spacer block 34, the right-end portion of bar 31, and a space block 35. Intermediate additional screws 17 and spacer blocks 34, 35 are employed. The bars 31 and 32 are thus supported below and transverse to the rear portions of the piano keys 12, at a location spaced rearwardly from the pivot strip 13.

A plurality of key-actuator assemblies 36 are adjustably-secured to each of the support bars 31 and 32. Each actuator unit comprises a rigid top-wall member 37 of flat bar-like shape provided with an upstanding traverse rib 38 through which is threadedly-engaged a clamping screw 39. The wall member 37 is further provided with another upstanding rib or lug 40 spaced from the lug 38 formed with an under-cut or recess 41 facing the lug 38 and adapted to receive one side edge of a support bar 31 or 32, as shown in FIGURE 4, the clamping screw 39 in the opposite rib 38 being clampingly-engageable with the remaining side edge of the support bar 31 or 32, as is clearly shown in FIGURE 4. In the specific arrangements illustrated in the drawings, the clamping screws 39 are directed inwardly, namely, to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 1, being engageable with the forwardly-facing side edges of the bars 31 and 32, whereas the fixed hooked lugs 40 receive the rearwardly-facing side edges of the support bars 31 and 32. Therefore, as will be presently explained, the heads of the screws 39 are accessible for engagement by a screwdriver when the housing comprising the wall elements 18, 19, 20 and 21 is removed and the manifold 22 is disconnected from the key bed 11.

Rigidly-secured to the forward end portion of each top wall member 37 is a forwardly-directed valve-chamber portion 42 integrally-formed with a forwardly-directed conduit member 43 which is connected by a flexible-hose section 44 to an adjacent corresponding conduit section 45 provided on the vertical rear main wall 46 of the elongated vacuum manifold 22.

The top wall of the chamber 42 is formed with a valve aperture 47 in which is loosely-positioned a verticallymovable valve member 48 having the enlarged top flat head 49 which normally is supported on the margin around aperture 47, keeping the aperture closed. Main top wall 37 is formed with a vent port 90 above head 49. The bottom wall of chamber 42 is provided with an upstanding intermediate partition wall 50 defining a rear space 51 in the chamber 42 located beneath the valve opening 47. Thus, the chamber 42 may comprise a pair of longitudinally-extending mating segments suitably-clamped together by any conventional fastening means, the lower segment containing the upstanding partition wall 50. A flexible diaphragm 53 of rubber, or any other suitable flexible material, is clamped between the segments overlying the space 51 and, therefore, underlying the bottom end of the fluted shank of the valve element 48, as shown in FIGURE 4. Normally, namely, when there is no difference of pressure between space 51 and the remainder of chamber 42, the diaphragm 53 assumes a substantially upwardly-concave configuration, as shown in FIGURE 4, being disengaged from the bottom end of the valve element 48. However, when a substantial increase in pressure of the fluid in space 51 occurs, as when space 51 is exposed to atmospheric pressure, the diaphragm 53 is inflated upwardly, engaging the bottom end of valve element 48 and lifting the valve element to elevate its head portion 49 above the aperture 47 into engagement with wall 37 and to seal the vent port 90, thereby exposing the space in the actuator 36 to vacuum.

The upstanding wall 50 is provided with a restricted bleeder opening 54 to insure equalization of the pressure in the space 51 with the pressure in the remainder of the valve housing 42 under steady-state conditions, and to provide retarded escape of the air in the space 51 to the vacuum manifold 22.

The sidewall of the lower segment of each valve housing assembly 42 is provided with a control port 58 communicating with the space 51 and leading to a conduit 57 which is connected, in turn, by a flexible hose 56 to a corresponding aperture in a conventional perforated reading bar employed in conjunction with conventional rollertransport means for a perforated music roll which passes over the reading bar and exposes apertures thereof to atmosphere in accordance with the musical composition recorded on the roll. This conventional mechanism may be mounted in an external housing or cabinet and located in any convenient position with respect to the piano on which the attachment is installed.

The upper rear corner of the valve housing 42 is formed with a transverse, generally V-shaped upwardlyfacing groove 59 which forms a pivot bearing for a downwardly-tapering transverse end rib 60 formed on the transverse forward end edge of a rigid bottom leaf member 61. The bottom leaf member 61 is connected at its side edges and at its rear end to the side and rear edges of the rigid top wall member 37 by the flexible, accordionpleated side and end walls 62 and 63 of suitable flexible material, such as leather, or the like. Thus, the bottom wall 61 is hinged relative to the stationary top wall 37 by the pivotal connection provided by groove 59 which pivotally-receives the tapered downwardly-directed transverse rib 60 of member 61, as above-explained, the bottom wall member 61 being moved upwardly when the flexible side and end walls 62 and 63 deflate responsive to the exposure of the interior space of the actuator to vacuum, namely, when valve element 48 is lifted by the upward distension of the diaphragm 53.

Normally, namely, when the port 58 is not vented to atmosphere, the spaces above and below the flexible dia phragm 53 are at the same pressure, namely, are at the relatively low pressure which exists in the vacuum manifold 22. When port 58 is exposed to atmosphere, namely, when the associated perforation in the reading bar is exposed to atmosphere by a hole in the music roll, space 51 receives air at atmospheric pressure, distending the diaphragm 53 upwardly and elevating valve element 48, as above-described, keeping the aperture 47 open until the vacuum is substantially re-established in the space 51. This occurs after the port 58 is again closed off relative to the atmosphere by the continued movement of the music roll and the air in space 51 bleeds out of the restricted passage 54.

Each bottom leaf element 61 is provided with a rearwardly-extending lug 64 which engages beneath the bottom end of a vertical dowel 65 extending slidably upwardly through a corresponding vertical aperture 66 provided in the inner longitudinal margin of the key bed 11. Rigidlysecured on the top end of each dowel 65 is an enlarged cylindrical head member 67 provided on its top end with a pad 68 of soft material, such as wool cloth, or the like. The head 67 is loosely-received in a vertical counterbore 69 provided in the key bed 11 above and in axial alignment with the associated vertical bore 66. The head member 67 passes upwardly through the transversely-extending key-frame member 14 and through the pad 15 on the top of the key-frame member, a vertical aperture 70 being provided for each of the head members 67, as is clearly shown in FIGURE 4. Each head member 67 underlies the inner end of a piano key 12, so that the key is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 1, responsive to upward movement of its associated dowel head 67 caused 'by the upward pivoting movement of the associated actuator leaf member 61. This causes actuation of the associated piano-striking mechanism in the same manner as if the forward end of the key 12 were to be depressed manually. Therefore, in operation, with the parts arranged as illustrated in the drawings, and with the manifold 22 connected to the vacuum source, such as a vacuum pump, the movements of the music roll along the reading bar causes ports 58 to be exposed to atmosphere in accordance with the composition recorded on the music roll, whereby corresponding piano keys 12 are operated.

The bottom leaf members 61 pivot in a substantially frictionless manner by the cooperation of their rear downwardly-tapered pivot rib elements 60 with the upwardlyfacing substantially V-shaped grooves 59 in which they are received.

In the event that any of the bleeder holes 54 becomes clogged, it is relatively easy to clear same, since it is merely necessary to disconnect the associated flexible hose 44 from the associated conduit element 43, which immediately provides access to the clogged bleeder hole 54 so that it may be readily cleared by inserting a suitable implement therethrough.

Access to the mechanism can be easily obtained by removal of the protective housing comprising the front wall 18, the bottom wall 21, and the side walls 19 and 20. This is accomplished merely by the removal of the fastening screws 28 and 29. If it is then desired to obtain access to the clamping screws 39, it is merely necessary to remove the manifold fastening screws 25, 25, whereby the manifold 22 may be allowed to drop down, thereby providing accessto the screws 39. In this manner, it is relatively easy to adjust the actuators 36 along the bars 31 and 32 to properly position them relative to their associated vertical dowel members 65. Also, this facilitates the removal of the actuators 36 for repair or replacement, since it is merely necessary to disconnect their associated flexible conduits 44 and then loosen their associated clamping screws 39 in order to free them for removal.

It will be noted that since the actuators are supported on the vertically-spaced bars 31 and 32 so that there are two banks or rows of actuators, the vertical dowel members 65 employed with the upper bank of actuators are relatively short and are staggered relative to the vertical dowel members, shown at 65', employed with the lower bank of actuators. However, in spite of the stacked arrangement of the actuators, access is readily obtainable to each actuator or to its associated clamping screw 39 for repair or adjustment of the actuator, or to its bleeder opening 54 whenever cleaning thereof is required.

While a specific embodiment of an improved pneumatic piano-player attachment has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a musical instrument having a plurality of side-by-side piano keys, a support beneath said keys and pivot means on the support underlying the intermediate portions of and piovtally-supporting said keys, horizontal bar means secured beneath said support transverse to said piano keys, respective vacuum-responsive actuators disposed adjacent the bar means, means clampingly-securing the actuators to the bar means, means operatively-coupling the actuators to the piano keys, 2.

vacuum source, respective vacuum condiuts to connect the actuators to the source, respective normally-closed valve means connected between each actuator and its associated vacuum conduit, each of said valve means being provided with a control chamber, means to open the valve means when its control chamber is exposed to atmospheric pressure, each control chamber having an air inlet port, and respective control conduits connected to said inlet ports, and wherein each vacuum-responsive actuator comprises an elongated rigid top wall member, means defining a transverse upwardly-facing groove subjacent the forward end of said top wall member, an elongated rigid bottom leaf member disposed below said top wall member, a downwardly-tapering transverse pivot rib on the forward end edge of said bottom leaf member pivotally-engaged in said groove, and respective flexible wall elements connecting the side and rear end edges of said top wall member and bottom leaf member to define an air-tight enclosure, said valve means being connected between said enclosure and the vacuum conduit associated with the actuator.

2. In a key actuator of the character described, the combination of an elongated rigid top wall member, means defining a transverse upwardly-facing groove subjacent one end of said top wall member, an elongated rigid bottom leaf member disposed below said top Wall member, a depending pivot rib on one end edge of said bottom leaf member pivotally-engaged in said groove, respective flexible wall elements connecting the side and remaining end edges of said top wall member and bottom leaf member to define an airtight enclosure, and fluid conduit means connected to said top wall member and communicating with said enclosure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,836,092 5/1958 Gribble 84-25 1,728,191 9/1929 Votey 8425 FOREIGN PATENTS 462,017 3/1937 England.

RICHARDSON B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner. I. F. GONZALES, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 84-29 

